For the Love of Ink and Food – Vegan Tattoos

Tattoo parlors are becoming increasingly popular over the last decade, and almost every consenting adult wants to carry at least a small emblem on their bodies, to depict patterns that mean something to them. As a vegan, you probably wonder if the tattoo industry is vegan-friendly and how right you are to wonder if they are vegan-friendly. What many people don’t realize is that most of the inks, the equipment, and products used when getting a tattoo is not vegan-friendly and derived from animals. If you are a vegan and you are considering an ink design, its best to hold off till you find the right place to get yourself permanently marked.

Animal Composition in Tattoo Products

Good news is that there are several good quality, vegan-friendly inks, and tattoo products that are available in the market today. However, there are still some inks that contain animal derivatives. Glycerine that used to be derived from animal fat is now being extracted from vegetables as well. The main reason for the animal fat glycerine was because of the stabilizer effects that the fat provided. Now that the same benefits are available from vegetables, vegans can rest their minds. However, glycerine is one of the other prime animal-derived products used; gelatine is another animal product used. Bone char from animals is used in the black inks to give the pigment the right black shade. While there are alternatives to the bone char for the black ink, the main problem in the tattoo industry is that the after-care products mostly contain animal products.

During the inking process, the stencil paper which is used to create the design is made from lanolin. Lanolin is a product that is got from sheep’s wool. The aftercare and in-process products such as the razors and soaps all contain glycerine that is derived from animals. If lanolin is not used, then beeswax is used. The news can be shocking to a strict vegan. However, there is a massive ray of sunshine. Thanks to the awareness initiatives of vegans around the world, there are now vegan-friendly alternatives to everything.

Here are the products that you need to inquire about:

Stencil paper

Ink

Soap

Razor

After-care balm

Hand sanitizer

Finding the Vegan Options

Tattoo artists are understanding of the growing demand of all things vegan and the lifestyle choices that people are making these days. For this reason, several tattoo artists source and work only with products that are vegan-friendly. They know exactly what they should be doing when catering to vegan customers. A quick google search will be able to reveal which tattoo artists in your area will be able to provide you with vegan-friendly options to get yourself inked. No matter what the research you do and what claims are made, always make sure you check with the tattoo artist about the products they use before you start the process.